The Stoning of Soraya M

Description

Product Description From a producer of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST comes this chilling true story. Academy Award® nominee Shorheh Aghdashloo stars as Zahra, a woman with a burning secret. When a journalist (Jim Caviezel) is stranded in her remote village, Zahra takes a bold chance to reveal what the villagers will stop at nothing to hide. Thus begins the story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), a kind woman whose cruel, divorce- seeking husband trumps up false charges of infidelity against her, which carry an unimaginable penalty. Soraya and Zahra attempt to navigate the villagers’ scheming, lies and deceit to prove her innocence. But when all else fails, Zahra must risk everything to use the only weapon she has left – her voice – to share Soraya's shocking story with the world. desertcart.com In the most powerful motion pictures, the message tends to be embedded so deeply that it isn't always apparent at first glance. In The Stoning of Soraya M., the point of the project--to bring a heinous cultural practice to light--drowns out all other concerns. The film is based on Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s international bestselling non-fiction book of the same title. Sahebjam (played by Jim Caviezel, in a framing device) stumbles across the story in 1986 when his car breaks down in a remote Iranian village and he meets Zahra (House of Sand and Fog's Shohreh Aghdashloo), who begs him to tell the world what happened to her niece, Soraya. After 21 years of marriage, Soraya's abusive husband, Ali, falls in love with a 14-year-old, but Soraya (Mozhan Marnò) resists divorce for fear he'll leave her penniless, so Ali falsely accuses her of infidelity, convinces the town elders to get on board, and the mayor sentences her to death by stoning. Though Cyrus Nowrasteh directs, The Passion of the Christ producer Steven McEveety's guiding hand is keenly felt as a blameless individual must suffer for the sins of others, but the film would generate more sympathy and outrage if the characters registered as vividly as the message (see Silkwood for a superior example of character-based outrage). The actors, including Caviezel--affecting a passable accent--invest their mono-dimensional roles with conviction, but this literary adaptation would've worked better as a documentary that examines the history of honor killings, including the legal and political repercussions. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Review: Doesn't Get Any Realer Then This. - Around a year ago, I wrote a review about a film that dissapointed me greatly called An American Crime starring Ellen Page. It tried to tackle the true story of Sylvia Likens, a teenage girl that was abused to death by a grotesque pack mentality of adults and kids back in 1965 Indianapolis. I accused the film and the director of lacking the guts to dispaly the abuse realistically, and subsequently, taking what was very serious subject matter, and depicting it with all the limpness of boiled bacon. My review was objective to a fault, and examined the shortcomings of that picture with stark informative detail, while utilizing my own brand of brash humor. The name of that review was called "Pussyfoot" which pretty much summed up An American Crime's production team. For many readers, this boldness on my part didn't go over very well. In the months that fallowed, the comment box filled up with all kinds of hateful negative feedback. People where telling me what a sick man I was, how they hoped I never had children, and how I needed to have my head examined. It is truly a surreal feeling to have other people point fingers at you, while acting like they are morally superior then you are. All this because I said that that particular movie compromised its intentions by trying to skirt the issue. The point to this is, is that I wasn't wrong. I just didn't clearly state the full point that I was trying to make. Thankfully, The Stoning Of Soraya M. has come along and completed the puzzle for me. There are some stories that when objectified onto film, demand a director with the innovation and guts to boldly display harsh reality and truth without any fear of how it might effect the viewer. This impasse comes about when the subject matter is no longer about entertainment. That is the key point here. That is the difference between The Stoning Of Soraya M. and most other movies. That is why this movie works so well and is in my eyes, one of the absolute best two or three film of its entire decade. It is also why An American Crime will be no more then a forgotten footnote in the annals of movie history. The subject matter in The Stoning Of Soraya M. goes well beyond 99.9% of what all other film is for, entertainment. It therefor has to be depicted like what it is...Real. Now a couple of brief disclaimers. I can only imagine how upsetting this film must be for Islamic people. Having a nasty secret like a culture who's most ardent believers still practice and condone stoning in these modern times goes far beyond merely having a pink elephant in the room. The point of this film is not to blindly condemn Islam, but to condemn any and all sick atrocities that dare to insult humanity is such a blantantly foul way. However, it is my humble opinion that more Islamic people need to get in the game and shout down their extremists and put pressure on them to change their ways. As a westerner, just don't go into this picture through the eyes of Islamophobia. Instead, we should all be thankful that this feature exists with the harsh bare truth that it does, because it is making a demand for change with unflinching guts. It is fighting for what is right, and depicting it the right way. The only way that it possibly can. My second disclaimer is this. Know that I am a full blown ceniphile with over 1,000 DVD's in my private collection. I am also a seasoned fan of horror and exploitation films. I see violence displayed in film all the time. I have seen all sorts of people die on film in all sorts of amazing and bizarre ways, but not even a life time of digesting the most disturbing cinematic moments known to man kind prepaired me for the death scene in The Stoning Of Soraya M. I suspected this was going to rough going in, that was why I didn't bother to even take the plastic off the the DVD until five days after it arrived on my doorstep. The very idea of a person getting stoned to death on screen was a bigger pill then my mind was willing to swallow. I didn't even want to imagine how rough this was going to be. The truth is, that the depiction of the horrifying event in The Stoning Of Soraya M. not only exceeded the most dreadful images I could ever of conjured in my minds eye, but it was ten times worse then anything I would have dared to imagine. What I didn't take into account going in, was the level of acting by Mozhan Marno' who played Soraya M. What she was capable of conveying with just one look from a single facial expression, shatters nearly all the acting that I have ever seen come out of Hollywood. I still get chills down my spine just picturing her in that scene. On top of this, the directing during that sequence was done with such brilliance, care, and boldness, that this is easily the most devistating death scene ever crafted in the history of cinema. I say this without the least bit of exaggeration. This subject matter that was beyond mere entertainment demanded a director with the guts to depict its harshest moments with truth, and by God this story found one in Cyrus Nowrasteh. I won't ruin this by telling you what takes place, but just be warned...It doesn't get any realer then this. The story itself is very simple and is told in a most concise direct manner. Despite the film being mostly subtitled, you shouldn't have any problems fallowing along since things are so smooth and streamlined. What makes this such a rich rewarding cinematic experience is that the film shows so many levels of human behavior with such stark clairity. Since the poor people in this tiny Iranian village have to scrape their existence off of rock and rubble, they act in all kinds of different ways when opportunity presents itself to them. Some do petty things, like trying to steal the feminine belongings from a grieving man who just lost his wife, while others show remarkable dignity and courage in the face of the hardships and personal mistakes. I would be hard pressed to conjure up another film that showed this level of clearly drawn humanity. Mike Leigh's Naked comes to mind, as does The Magdalene Sisters, and film classics like Cool Hand Luke, and Dog Day Afternoon, but it indeed rare these days. When I look back into the experience that is this feature, I really can not see where any of the flaws are. There is not a single moment that drags or feels unnecessary. Every character is authentic and three dimentional, the dialogue meaninful and profound, and the cinematography glorious. I don't know what else to say except that I have to thank everyone involved in this film for not being afraid of the subject matter. Thanks to them, I now know for sure that I am not the jadded monster that my commenter's on my Pussyfoot review where saying I was. Thanks to the production team who made The Stoning Of Soraya M. I now know that I am completely human. This film is absolutely wonderful and essential. I give it my highest recommendation possible. Review: Islam As Practiced in Most of the World - Excellent movie. If you enjoyed it, you'd also enjoy the Muslim-produced DVD called "The Third Jihad," also available from desertcart and also five stars. Here's a review of that video: 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars The Myth of "Moderate" Islam, May 25, 2011 desertcart Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America (DVD) This is an outstanding DVD, made by a Muslim, and packed with hard evidence: videos of Islamic leaders proclaiming their goal of destroying Western culture, not through imminent terrorism, but rather through deception and infiltration--a long-term goal to conquer the entire world and make all countries Islamic theocratic states subject to the law of Sharia. The DVD exposes how purportedly "moderate" Islamic leaders in the United States and elsewhere are anything but. Many are caught on tape advocating terrorism and the ultimate goal of global Islamic rule. Many of the main purportedly "moderate" Islamic leaders in the United States have been convicted on terrorism charges. The extreme repressiveness of Saudi Arabia, America's purported ally, is exposed, as is their massive exportation of extremist Wahhabist teachings through establishment of so-called "madrassahs" throughout the mideast, Asia and yes, the United States and Europe. The Wahhabist sect is one of the most extreme and violent of Islamic sects. The madrassahs established by the Saudis teach intolerance, hatred of the west and violent terrorist tactics to children throughout the world, starting from very early ages. They have created the Islamic extremists, terrorists, and suicide bombers of today, and tomorrow. Despite all phony denials--as expressly admitted in this DVD by many of the major Islamic leaders in the U.S.--the ultimate goal of Islam is total global conquest. The current violent terrorist acts and wars are merely feints designed--quite successfully--to keep attention away from the real jihadist movement, which is to infiltrate and destroy western democracies from within. For various reasons--extending from oil profits for corporations to "political correctness"--the United States and most of Europe (the Netherlands being an exception)--have propagated the myth that Islamic extremists are simply a tiny fringe group representing no more than 1-2% of Muslims worldwide. Nothing could be farther from the truth. On the morning of 9/11, news programs showed film of massive crowds pouring into the streets of Palestine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and elsewhere in joyous, ecstatic celebration of the horrible attacks on America and the deaths of so many thousand innocent citizens. Since that time, these videos have been surppressed, because they don't fit with the government's false assurances that the "real" Islam is a peaceful religion and that the terrorists represent only a tiny minority who have allegedly "hijacked" Islam. Polls in many Islamic countries have established that more than half of all Muslims either "supported," "sympathized with" or "admired" Osama Bin Laden. The majority of Islamic sects are not peaceful, or tolerant, or respectful of basic human rights. Among the worst are the Wahhabists who dominate Saudi Arabia and whose goals of terrorism and global conquest have been exported by Saudi Arabia around the world. American authorities stand idly by while these enemies of America send imams into U.S. prisons to brainwash and recruit many African-Americans and others to adopt their teachings of hate. This must stop. Wahhabist principles--including the goal of Islamic global conquest and the morality of killing all non-Muslims--are also taught throughout the United Stated in mosques, Islamic centers and through Islamic groups and websites, many of whom purport to be "moderate" and on the surface lie and disavow such things. I am a far-left Democrat. I voted for Obama, walked precincts for George McGovern, and have never voted for a Republican in my life. This is NOT a partisan issue. This is the most serious threat we have faced since Adolf Hitler and the Japanese in World War II. There is no possibility of avoiding a Third World War of the West versus Islam. The Muslims have made that inevitable. America and Europe need to wake up and stop pretending that Islam is just a peaceful religion with no goal of global conquest. If we keep our heads in the sand much longer, it will be too late. Watch this Muslim-produced DVD. You will be absolutely shocked at what your government has NOT been telling you, and the absolute lies that it has been telling you.